The Princess of Las Vegas

Reviews

“Bohjalian brings a propulsive vitality and a sly humor to a surprisingly moving tale....The mayhem includes murder, bribery and blackmail. The bodies pile up. But underneath it lurks a poignant story of two sisters with a tragic shared history—and a clever teenager who knows her way around a computer and might well save the day.”
—Sarah Lyall, The New York Times

“The Princess of Las Vegas starts with the co-owner of a fictional casino (the British-themed Buckingham Palace) catching one in the temple…it’s a bang-up way to get things going....Bohjalian has long been able to elevate these kinds of tales by writing about inward madness as well as outward. He draws characters with whom we immediately empathize.... Fascinating....Powerful, even at times audacious.”
—Tod Goldberg, The Washington Post

“Crissy Dowling, who narrates much of Chris Bohjalian’s The Princess of Las Vegas…lives in semiregal isolation at her residency suite and poolside cabana, drifting through days 'in a diazepam haze' and nights in 'an Adderall buzz…' Crissy’s estranged lookalike sister, Betsy, reappears in her life....Have Crissy and Betsy become dangerously entangled with a criminal and deadly organization? The Princess of Las Vegas packs a lot...into its roll-the-dice plot....[An] engaging and imaginative thriller.”
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

"Bohjalian’s latest is a fusion of contemporary malaise and eager nostalgia—not unlike Sin City itself.”
—Lauren Puckett-Pope, Elle

"Chris Bohjalian has a type. His recent thrillers are about glamorous, imperiled women who may not be trustworthy but whose senses of humor makes us like them anyway…[He] writes with verve and humor, and his depiction of a seedy, past-its prime casino feels just right…Keeps us guessing until the end.”
—Chris Hewitt, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Riveting... Same old same old isn't something you get from Chris Bohjalian. No ruts for this author... Bohjalian nails the seedy atmosphere of Las Vegas off the strip.” 
—Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A narrative of twists and turns focusing on family secrets.” 
—Doni Wilson, Houston Chronicle

"Subsisting on Adderall and Valium, a slim, beautiful Princess Diana impersonator makes a good living in Vegas until the day her estranged sister shows up, setting in motion a thriller that involves organized crime, unscrupulous cryptocurrency bros and shady politicians." 
—New York Times

"This literary thriller...is about many things, including cryptocurrency, organized crime and family secrets....Bohjalian's books [are] juicy but literary at the same time. They’re so smart but feel like candy.”
—WBEZ Chicago, "A Nerdette Pick for 2024"

“A twisting double helix of a mystery…The Princess of Las Vegas is two stories. One is a willies-inducing murder mystery…the other is about the folly of keeping secrets and holding grudges. Both are tight, captivating tales that balance and support each other as they unfold.”
— Jordan Adams, Seven Days

“A wonderful book....I absolutely could not put it down.”
—Anne Lamott, New York Times best-selling author of Bird by Bird

“The perfect balance of sophisticated characterization and wild, rollicking plot."
—CrimeReads

“Bohjalian excels at creating flawed and pained women, with histories that are often shocking and always revelatory. Betsy and Crissy are in the tradition of some of his best female protagonists…  Bohjalian always delivers a winner. The Princess of Las Vegas is exactly that.”
—Roberta O’Hara, Bookreporter

"A thrilling symphony of royal impersonators, teenage hackers and run-down casinos with multiple mysteries at its core. . . Bohjalian is no stranger to quirky folks in increasingly twisted situations. . . [and in Crissy and Betsy he] has created two distinctively fascinating narrators. . . The Princess of Las Vegas will leave the reader with both a yearning for Sin city excitement and a deep sigh of relief at being exactly where they are.”
—BookPage, starred

“Entertaining…The untimely deaths keep coming…Bohjalian is very good at capturing both the dark underside of Las Vegas and the weird surface on which fake Arethas, Sinatras, and Michael Jacksons cavort. Diana goes Vegas…in Bohjalian’s latest lively romp.”
—Kirkus

“Bohjalian’s lightning-speed page-turner delivers a dishy, twisty tale of suspense tempered with intriguing insights into the nature of ego, fame, and family. . . Bohjalian offers a full deck of irresistible elements in this novel of endangered Vegas royalty.” 
—Carol Haggas, Booklist

"[A] well-calibrated satire of cryptocurrency culture. . .[and] a blazing, Tarantino-esque climax.”
—Publishers Weekly

"Crissy makes a living as a Princess Diana impersonator in Las Vegas, a glamorous one-woman act that masks the more unsavory aspects of her life. But when her boss at the Buckingham Palace Casino is murdered, Crissy finds herself in very real danger. Appealing both to readers obsessed with the British royals and to fans of mysteries and thrillers."
—BookBub

“Bohjalian continues to crank out stand-alone fiction that is undefinable, often crosses various genres, and is always clever and surprising....The Princess of Las Vegas satisfies on so many levels and shows once again that Bohjalian is a writer worth following no matter what he produces.”
—Ray Palen, Bookreporter

"For fans of estranged sisters, obsession, and organized crime! Crissy Dowling is living a strange and downward spiraling life: she has a one-woman show in Las Vegas playing Diana Spencer. While the fans may adore her, her addiction and life-blurring identity aren’t the healthiest. It’s only about to get worse when one of the owners of the casino is murdered, her estranged sister shows up with a boyfriend and teenage kid, her boyfriend—a separated-from-his-wife Senator— goes back to his wife, and she’s asked by the other casino owner to do a dangerous favor."
—Jamie Canaves, BookRiot Expand reviews